Right now, I’m waiting. For an answer. And it feels like this waiting has been going on for nigh-unto-forever. Really, it’s only been a little over two months, but the days feel long. The thoughts keep questioning. “When will I hear an answer? Will it be the one I hope for?”

Our Five Minute Friday prompt this week is—TIME. This largely unedited “rough draft” form of writing stretches this perfectionist, in the best of ways. I write for five minutes on a given topic. If you’re interested in learning more about 5-Minute Fridays, check out our hostess,Kate Motaung’ssite. Or, click on the link at the bottom of this post. As you read my simpler Friday posts, I hope you’ll join in the conversation!

There’s so much I could have said about this topic, but I narrowed it down to today’s life lesson. I have a suspicion Time will figure into more blog posts. 🙂 And I confess, I went a wee bit over.

TIME

The older my boys get, the faster time flies.

There are so many distractions that eat up the minutes in a day. So many things to take care of that require my attention be focused on a screen.

There’s a place and a time for this, yes.

But my boys . . . they only live this day once. They come home from school with issues. And, when I’m distracted, it’s beyond easy to deal with the surface disrespect, the incomplete homework the binder left at school. So easy to reprimand.

But it takes a willingness to give of “my” time to get below the surface of that disrespectful answer.

Today one boy came home, glibly declared he’d left an important binder at school. And wrote me a note that about broke my heart.

God stopped me right there.

I went to his room. He poured out the struggles, the frustrations, the weariness that comes from being made to feel less-than by his peers.

I wish I had the answers! But, as my boys grow older, I won’t always have the perfect response to their heartbreaks. Sometimes, all I can give them is my time, my heart.

My heart needs to be aligned with Jesus first. This takes time.

Yes, my boys will never be this young again.

They deserve my time—my full attention—as they walk through life’s hard during their pre-teen and teen years. When I’m focused on my to-do’s, its easy to forget how painful these years are. How painful it is to be the last picked for a team on the playground.

Time is a gift I can give to my children. Giving them time means my time won’t be spent on something I’m trying to accomplish.

When it comes right down to it, my family is the most important priority God’s given me.He’s the giver of all good gifts, and that includes time. But, He leaves the choice up to me as to how I use it.

If I’m not willing to spend the time God gives me on them, then His gift is wasted. The boys are hardened. And I lose out.

I’m working to gift the time God gives me to those who are most important in my life.

What about you? How do you make choices to spend your time wisely? How do you gift your time to others?

Yet, she had a life-changing impact on me. Her gracious words, her honesty in her blog and her love for her God, her family and those who crossed her path shone through her words and actions.

A friend first introduced me to the writings of Kara Tippetts when a loved one in my life was diagnosed with cancer. I began reading the words of this thirty-eight-year old mother of four and I was challenged, and convicted to look beyond the now.

My Five Minute Friday prompt this week is—Long. This largely unedited “rough draft” form of writing stretches this perfectionist, in the best of ways. I write for five minutes on a given topic. If you’re interested in learning more about 5-Minute Fridays, check out our hostess,Kate Motaung’ssite. Or, click on the link at the bottom of this post. As you read my simpler Friday posts, I hope you’ll join in the conversation!

LONG

When the boys were little—scrapping with each other, daring me to defy their strong wills—an older and wiser friend shared this quote with me:

“The days are long, but the years are short.”

And how true I’m finding this statement to be. The boys are now 11 1/2 and 10 years old. Bigger, stronger, more able to reason . . . and some days just as able to drive me to my knees in discouragement and prayer.

But now, I see the quickness of the years. One is almost a teenager. We have maybe seven more years to be his mama and dad while he’s under our care.

After that, our boys will spread their own wings into their beautiful lives. Independent, hopefully living for Jesus.

I see how much we still need to teach them.

Where have the days gone?

They’ve been filled with training, laughter, cuddles, battles, playing, watching movies, hopefully making fun memories they will take with them when they leave our nest.

I’m not in a hurry for our boys to grow up. I want to cherish each day they live under our roof. Some days truly are long, but the years are picking up speed with each birthday.

And it scares me a little.

The struggles in the long days pale when I hold them up to the years our boys have already lived. It makes me a wee bit sad to see them grow. I tell them to stay small. And one of them says he will.

The other . . . he’s ready to make his days fly by and live with freedom and independence he still needs to learn to manage well. But in his mind, he is ready.

I am not.

I want more long days (but not the ones where we’re battling!). Days where we hike, laugh, enjoy being together. Shared memories. Shared love.

The days may be long, but the years truly are short.

What about you? When have you wanted to slow down time, just a little? What one piece of advice would you share with those walking behind you in life?

A funny thing happened on the way home from the ACFW conference last Monday. God gave me the gift of sitting next to an author I highly respect. After I got past my “fan-girl” moments, we both rested for a bit.

Jeanne Takenaka writes contemporary inspirational fiction that deals with real life issues with a heart to draw women closer to God and to those around them. She is wife to one amazing man who is her real life hero, and mother to two exuberant boys who hope to one day have a dog of their own. She loves being God’s girl always learning about His grace, hanging out with friends and enjoying a great cup of coffee. She and her family live near the mountains in Colorado. She is a member of ACFW and My Book Therapy Voices.

POSTING SCHEDULE:
Each Tuesday and most Fridays I post on topics relating to life, relationships and those passions held in hearts and lived out each day.

All written content and photographs are property of Jeanne Takenaka, unless otherwise attributed, and are protected by copyright.